Re: River Valley: Appreciating summer heat and humidity

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — When I called Dr. Michael Fahr at Conway Regional Medical Center for a story last week, I asked him what he would say to Northeasterners complaining about their excessive heat.

He chuckled a bit before pointing out that heat-related illnesses are usually more about the humidity than the heat.

Me? I love both.

I’ve been rolling my eyes when hearing news about the weather from the (usually) cooler parts of the country, but I guess I’ve been doing that for a while.

I don’t feel the need to apologize to my friends in New York City who may have to buy a window unit for two weeks out of the whole year.

Maybe I should show them my energy bill.

In truth, we’re all just wired differently. We have thicker or thinner blood depending on where we’re from, and we stay cooler or warmer due to our amount of body fat.

I guess my blood must be extra thin, and I know I could stand to put on a few pounds.

I love the feeling of coming into a cool, air-conditioned house after spending the day outside. I love applying cool aloe to mild sunburns. I don’t even mind kicking the sheets off in the middle of the night when it gets too warm in my bedroom.

For the past several summers I have been out of the state, and summer just hasn’t felt the same.

I spent last summer on Lake Huron in northeast Michigan wearing hoodies and drinking hot tea.

The few days the temperature rose above 80, everyone in that tiny vacation town was convinced they were having a collective heat stroke.

Again, I rolled my eyes.

I turned my window unit on once that summer and ran my heater off and on until July.

My office building was one of the only buildings in the city with central air conditioning. It broke some time in June, and the company never bothered to fix it.

I was thankful. Excessive air conditioning - especially when it’s not needed - makes me feel clammy and almost sick.

As I type, I have a small space heater standing by beneath my desk in case the air blows too hard in my direction.

Any free afternoon I have is spent by the pool these days. I usually excitedly share the news about heat advisories around the state with my friends.

Of course, heat, like any other extreme weather, is reason to take caution.

Dr. Fahr says pay attention to burn bans and heat advisories, and make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Also take special care with pets. Dogs like my little Boston terrier puppy overheat easily and need lots of water, too!

But y’all already know this, so have a glass of sweet tea, and let’s show those New Yorkers how summer is done.